Contents

Game Mechanics

4 Factions with no initial BTSC, but can meet and establish BTSC during the game

Plus 7 Independents which can be recruited into any of the factions and have secret abilities.

The game also featured special day sequences, borrowed and tweaked from Warcraft III.

Rules

There are a lot of rules covering night-time and day-time separately.

Each night, players can either use their public (or secret) ability or try to recruit another person to their faction. As a side-effect of acting on the same person, players from the same faction can meet and establish BTSC.

Each day, playes initiate special sequences and vote for or against all sequences. There is no vote manipulation, all sequences are public and are passed (without host's interference) if they have absolute majority (more than half of alive players).

Night-time Rules

Each player has exactly one of following options each night:

Walking the Pattern (if he/she is Amberite) or the Logrus (if he/she has Chaos blood) and try to recruit a target (player)

(for initial Factions) Using a public ability on a target (player).

(for initial Independents) Using a secret shadow-walking ability on a target (player).

Walking the Pattern/Logrus:

Amberites can choose to walk the Pattern, Chaos beings can choose to walk the Logrus. Those with composite blood can choose either.

Walking the Pattern or Logrus gives the bearer the possibility of recruiting a player (blood type of the target does not matter): if the target is an un-recruited independent the target is recruited.

If two or more factions try to recruit the same player, they will BOTH fail.

Result of recruit is PMed to both the recruiter and his target along with the name of the faction. The night-post only reveals how many recruits were on that night.

Walking the Pattern/Logrus is not always safe. Each try has a 50-75-100% chance of success (otherwise kills the person that tries). Each role has a probability attached of successfully walking the pattern/logrus. Probabilities decrease with 25% each time the Pattern/Logrus is walked by that person (even if the recruit fails).

Public and Secret abilities:

each of the four factions has a spy-like role + a RID Kill role + a block-like role to start with.

each of the seven independents have a secret ability. The roles are secret at the beginning of the game, but night-posts will slowly reveal these abilities as they are played.

Meeting and gaining BTSC:

the factions start with no BTSC and they can get BTSC by:

meeting in the middle (as in Star Trek Mafia II): if A targets C AND B targets C AND neither is blocked.

meet at one's home: A targets B AND B does not submit an action OR does not have a night-action.

the recruit will share BTSC with the others only if he meets with one of the faction (as above) from the moment he/she is recruited (including the night he/she is recruited!)

All successful actions are shown - for RID Kills, only victims are shown - for Spies, only Spy is shown

Same type of actions targeting each other (or in chain) -> All actions happen (E.g. A tries to kill B who tries to kill C -> both B and C are killed).

Day-time Rules

Stoyline: Actions during the day are done using Trumps. Due to the Trump-jamming effect, more players are required to act in order for an action to be successful.

In short, it is a day-voting system very similar to the one in Warcraft III Battle with several differences.

What are sequences?

Instead of one massive mandatory host-started kill-vote during the day, the players can themselves start independent voting structures called "sequences".

Each sequence is started by an "initiator" and targeted to a "victim".

People can vote FOR the sequence or AGAINST the sequence.

What types of sequences?
There are three types of sequences:

end-of-day actions: e.g. "Lynch" - if successfully passed will result in the victim being lynched at the END OF THE DAY.

immediate actions: Only immediate sequence is Courier. This type of sequence, if passed, can be started anytime between the moment of passing and the end of that day.

veto action: This special sequence can ONLY be started by the victim of a passed (end-of-day) sequence. If a Veto is passed, the original sequence is veto-ed and remains frozen, although a new sequence of the same type (and with the same victim) can be reinitiated (by the same initiator or other).

How to start/vote on a sequence?

The following notation is used for sequences:

(Type VictimName by Initiator)–[PRO X]list in favor [CON Y]list against

Everyone can vote (if he or she chooses) exactly once on each sequence that is brought up.

Votes can be changed around but only until the sequence is passed or denied.

Absolute majority – total number of living players divided by two (ignoring the .5 on the end if there is an odd number of living players) and adding 1.
E.g for 8 living players absolute majority is 5 (8/2+1), for 9 players it is 5 (9/2-0.5+1).

Simple majority – total number of players that voted for that sequence divided by two (again ignoring the .5 on the end) and adding 1. Simple majority requires at least 2 votes for the same option.

E.g. if a sequence has 3-PRO and 2-CON at the end of day, it has 5 players who voted so a simple majority is 3 (5/2-0.5+1). So it passes.
E.g. if a sequence has 1-PRO and 0-CON at the end of day, it does not pass since it requires 2 votes for the same option. If it has 2-PRO and 0-CON (or 1-CON) at the end of the day, then it is passed.

Sequences can be:

passed immediately if an absolute majority votes PRO

denied immediately if an absolute majority votes CON

passed at the end of day if the sequence has a simple majority voting PRO

denied at the end of day if the sequence has a simple majority voting CON

Miscellaneous notes:

If you are the player that adds the vote that passes / denies the sequence with the absolute majority rule, you must acknowledge it by marking it as PASSED (color it as green) or FAILED (color it as red). The host is not needed to confirm or deny whether a sequence passed because everyone has 1 voting power. The host will only intervene if there are disputes.

At the end of the day, the host will pass/fail the sequences according to the simple majority rule.

Some sequences can only be passed by absolute majority rule.

If a veto sequence is PASSED, then the sequence that it vetoed is colored gray.

More rules?

There are no limits to the number of sequences that can be initiated at one time.

Even more than one sequence of each type is allowed as long as these rules are followed:

NO-MASS-SPYING: as initiator, you cannot start more than one Spy Sequence in the same day [unless first was vetoed]

NO-MASS-SPIED: a person cannot be victim to more than one Spy Sequence in the same day [unless all but one were vetoed]. There can be several spy sequences with the same victim at the same time, but when one is passed, the others are automatically frozen (gray).

REASON-FOR-VETO: a person can only start a Veto Sequence if:

( A ) they are the victim of a previously passed sequence (by absolute majority)

( B ) or a victim of a sequence that can win by simple majority if no one votes further in that sequence.

PREEMPTIVE-DEFEND: A victim can preemptively defend and initiate a veto sequence if they are the victim of a sequence which has already reached simple majority, WITHOUT waiting for it to reach absolute majority. At the end of the day, three situations are possible:

( B1 ) if the original sequence achieves absolute majority and the veto does not achieve absolute majority, the veto fails (Absolute trumps Simple Veto rule)

( B2 ) if the original sequence does not achieve absolute majority but it is passed by simple majority, then the veto is passed even with simple majority (Simple Veto trumps Simple)

( B3 ) if the original sequence does not even achieve simple majority, then the discussion is pointless.

The Veto sequence should ALWAYS specify the exact sequence it tries to veto. A veto sequence can only negate previously started/passed sequences and has no effect on sequences initiated afterwards (i.e. a veto-ed sequence can be started from scratch again).

What are the actual sequences?

Spy: Initiator learns faction of victim.

Freeze: Target is blocked for the night. This prevents responding to couriers or talking in the thread.

Lynch: Target is lynched and identity is revealed at the end of the day. Can only be passed by absolute majority.

Kill: Target is killed but identity is NOT revealed at the end of the day. Can only be passed by absolute majority.

Veto: Victim can negate a passed sequence against him.

Courier: Initiator can send one message to target and receive a response (The host does NOT have to be CCed!). The Courier sequences cannot be vetoed as they can take place immediately after being passed.

What's the catch?

The day has 36 hours:

24 hours in which you can initiate sequences

final 12 hours in which you can ONLY VOTE on already initiated sequences.

You can also use the final 12-hours of the day to send an action for the next night. It will be taken into consideration after the day ends and all sequences are evaluated by host.

simple majority can also pass a sequence at the end of day (+all rules deriving from that)

a more intuitive way of representing votes so that the result is obvious immediately

separate lynch/kill actions (in case you want your target to be killed and revealed or not)

36 hour-day in which last 12 are special - no sequences can be initiated then. This is a trade-off to avoid flash-sequences at the end of the day.

Role Description

Corwin’s party: Wincon - be in majority.

Corwin (Amberite-100%) – the first legitimate living child of Oberon who desires the throne. Corwin was abandoned injured in 17th Century Earth and has since recovered physically (but his memory was gone). His years on Earth seem to have softened him somewhat from his earlier arrogant beliefs, particularly with respect to the rest of the family, and to the residents of Shadow, who are regarded by some in the family as creations of their own minds, to be used and abused as they see fit. Ability: - His sword (Grayswandir, also known as the Night Blade) can quickly and quietly end someone's life. However he must be sure that his target is a foe. (RID Kill).

Deirdre (Amberite-75%) - Corwin's full-sister, their mother Faiella, dying after giving birth to Deirdre. Most-loved member of the Amberites, due to her beauty and compassion. Has very strong feelings for Corwin and will support his claim for the throne. Ability: - Her talents are few, but she is able to block a person from acting by charming (Block).

Random (Amberite-50%) - The youngest son of the family, a sneaky rascal, often irritating and called a 'punk' by older siblings. Random helps Corwin to regain his memory, and supports Corwin for the throne of Amber. He enjoys travelling far from Amber, visiting lands, gambling or playing his drums. He has the greatest musical talent in music in the family but despite that, admires Corwin for the piece he composed. He has strength of an Amberite in combat, however, being physically small and not as skilled as his brothers, he would normally prefer to run from a fight. Ability: - Can stealthly shadow someone and learn who they visited (Follow Spy).

Eric’s party: WinCon - be in majority.

Eric (Amberite-100%) - Corwin's elder full-brother (illegitimate). An arrogant yet competent would-be king of Amber. After Benedict, Eric is reputedly the greatest swordsman in the Universe of Amber and Shadow. When Oberon disappeared, Eric allied with Caine and Julian to hold the throne. After a duel, Eric left Corwin, gravely injured, on Earth in the 17th century. Ability: - He is a very good swordsman, able to win almost any duel. Honor demands he must be sure that his target is a foe. (RID Kill).

Caine (Amberite-75%) - a calculating, realistic manipulator with naval talents and lifestyle. He and Gérard command both the Amber Navy and the merchant fleets which ply a thousand different Shadow oceans in their trade. Ability: - His skills at gleaning information from converstion and Trump listening is unmatched (Faction Spy).

Julian (Amberite-50%) - a cold, sinister hunter with calm manner and biting tongue. He is usually found guarding the Forest of Arden in Amber, with his hell-hounds, beasts out of Shadow who are quite capable of ripping bodies, and metal, with their teeth. Ability: - He can summon his hell-hounds and chase his enemies for the whole night (Block).

The redheads: WinCon - be in majority.

Brand (Amberite-100%) – A manic depressive megalomaniac sorcerer. He makes Faustian bargains with the forces of Chaos in order to gain power, apparently becoming a "living Trump" who can move anywhere in Shadow by willing it. Ability: - His sword (Werewindle, the Day Sword) can quickly and quietly end someone's life. His sword's magic prevents him from harming friends (RID Kill).

Fiona (Amberite-75%) - Sorceress of the family, a deft mind and stunning beauty. With Bleys, she was one of the original co-conspirators with Brand to unseat Oberon and take the throne. Ability: - Can use her Trump knowledge to reveal everything about a player (Role and Faction Spy).

Bleys (Amberite) (Amberite-50%)- a dashing and charming extrovert that believes in a military effort to retake Amber from Eric. He is also a sorcerer, though of lesser skill than his two full siblings, and favors the sword. Ability: - Engaging someone in combat distracts him from acting (Block).

Courts of Chaos: WinCon - be in majority.

Suhuy (Chaos-100%) - keeper of the Logrus, Dworkin’s arch-enemy since he stole the Eye of the Serpent and created the Pattern. Ability: - The Serpent guides his magic, allowing him to remove a person from the Multiverse (RID Kill).

Dara (Chaos-75% & Amber-50%) - Great-granddaughter of Benedict, Corwin's lover, mother of Merlin, and wife of the Chaosite nobleman Gramble Sawall. She tricked Corwin and sneaked into Amber and walked the Pattern. Ability: - Her dual lineage allows her to blend in as an Amberite and find out valuable information (Faction Spy).

Mandor (Chaos-50%) - Merlin's stepbrother, a son of Gramble Sawall from a previous marriage. He is a machiavellian manipulator, but Merlin likes him. Ability: - He can engage a person in Magic Discussions, preventing her from acting all night long (Block).

Independents: Each can win with Faction if recruited, else win by staying alive (if either one faction wins by majority or all factions are wiped out).

Dworkin (Chaos-100% & Amber-100%) - mad sorcerer, author of the Pattern and father of Oberon. He was an advisor and teacher of the power of Trumps in Oberon’s court having Bleys, Brand and Fiona as apprentices. When the Primal Pattern of Amber was damaged, Dworkin went mad for the pattern was a reflection of his mind. He proposed the destruction of the Pattern (and thus, Amber and all the shadow alternate realities it cast) and then to create a new undamaged one. Deemed to be dangerous and unstable, he was imprisoned by Oberon. At least, that was the intent; Dworkin proved quite capable of leaving his prison.

Oberon (Chaos-50% & Amber-100%) - The first king of Amber. Oberon has lived longer than anyone could remember. He had many wives and children. Oberon wears the crown of Amber and the Jewel of Judgement as his office, though he rarely wears the jewel. As a king, he was known to be harsh, perhaps heartless. He was feared for his strength and unknown powers and its believed he could be one of the most powerful person alive, save Dworkin.

Benedict (Amberite-50%) - The master tactician of the family as well as the unmatched master of all martial weapons, and a man who seldom smiles. He chose to remove himself from the struggle for the crown. He will however choose to support a claim in order to stop a civil war.

Gerard (Amberite-50%) – A trusted brother, the strongest man in the multiverse and called "the best of all of us" by Brand. His loyalty is not, however, backed up with intelligence. He resents being manipulated by his siblings, preferring the face to face confrontation, and the contest of strength, not of guile.

Flora (Amberite-75%) - Regarded as shallow or a dumb blonde by her siblings, she often is on the winning side. Her beauty is legendary in many Shadows and also in Amber itself. She likes nothing better than to live a pampered existence in her luxurious residences in the Shadows.

Llewella (Amberite-75%) - born of an affair Oberon had. She removed herself from the presence of her family, and lives in Rebma, an underwater city that is a reflection of Amber.

Merlin (Chaos-100% & Amber-100%) - son of Dara and Corwin, and great-grandson of Benedict. Although he spent his first years in the Courts of Chaos not knowing of Amber and his father, he is truly neutral in the conflict, being ignored or kept in the dark by all sides.

Indy Secret Abilities

Each Indy had an optional Passive ability, a secret ability revealed when he/she entered a BTSC / revealed in the night-posts and a super-secret ability which was revealed only to them.

Dworkin (Chaos-100% & Amber-100%)

Shadow-Walking Ability: Each night he can spy a person (role and faction).

Super-Secret Ability: After being recruited, he can switch sides if he wants to (this will not be revealed to the first team) or block further recruitment attempts on him. He wins with the last faction he is recruited into.

Oberon (Chaos-50% & Amber-100%)

Passive Ability: Cannot be lynched (if lynched, his role is revealed, but not his secret ability or current Faction).

Shadow-Walking Ability: Each night can remove one of the players (RID Kill). Super-Secret Ability: When spied, he appears as either Benedict or Gerard or Dworkin (randomly chosen).

Benedict (Amberite-50%)

Passive Ability: Cannot die in N1, N2.Shadow-Walking Ability: Each night can remove one of the players (RID Kill).

Super-Secret Ability: After being recruited, he can switch sides if he wants to (this will not be revealed to the first team) or block further recruitment attempts on him. He wins with the last faction he is recruited into.

Gerard (Amberite-50%) –

Passive Ability: Cannot die in N1, N2.

Secret Ability: He can eavesdrop on the Trumps each night. He can choose 2 persons and is told who they targeted (2xFollow)

Flora (Amberite-75%) -

Passive Ability: Cannot die in N1.

Secret Ability: She can charm someone into forgetting his action for the night. (Block)

Super-Secret Ability: If spied, she appears to be Llewella.

Llewella (Amberite-75%) -

Passive Ability: Cannot die in N1.

Secret Ability: She is rarely present when others are discussing. She can however find things out by asking the host two Yes/No questions each night. (Oracle)

Secret Ability: Each night, can ask the Host for a persons’ alignment (Amber, Chaos or both) and strength of blood (100, 75, 50) (Indirect Spy)

Super-Secret Ability: After being recruited, he can switch sides if he wants to (this will not be revealed to the first team) or block further recruitment attempts on him. He wins with the last faction he is recruited into.

Host's Summary

Game Idea and Expectations

I had a lot of different ideas that I wanted to try in this game. Perhaps I was a little too ambitious trying to get them all at once.

I wanted a 4-Faction game in which recruiting was the main road to victory (actually only way to victory), hence I added 7 possible recruits as Indies (more than 1/3 of the roster). Initial plans were for 9 Indies.

I wanted BTSC by meet, to give players an extra incentive to talk and coordinate their actions.

I wanted to try day sequences, with an extended 12 hour to prevent flash-sequences, counters to see the state of the sequence more easily, and with simple majority ( extra incentive for people to vote CON, lest that sequence is passed at the end of the day).

I wanted to recapture the Glitch-moments with secret betrayals inside BTSC

I was in some areas completely unprepared for the "chaos" - no simulation I made was able to predict what 19 real players did in this game. I could make some in-game ruling and patch some things as the game progressed, but not all of the stuff. And days required so much effort (periodically verifying and correcting the sequences and tallying at the end of the day) that I did not create day-posts for D1 and D2 (which later became a standard.

All in all, it turned out to be an enjoyable game, which I loved hosting, and some, if not all, enjoyed playing.

Game

Night 1: Several Indies hinted at being an Indy (Glycereine, Golfjunkie, Slick). Yuli became a Redhead, Slick was recruited in Eric's party. Slick and GM established BTSC 2. Sparrowhawk and Framm did not attempt a recruit.

Day 1: A lot of couriers happened. Basically most indies opened up to being recruited, with the exception of Slick (Already recruited), Segul (who spied Framm and couriered him the next day) and EDM. Yuli contacted Glycereine, Golfjunkie and Hirkala (among others) and invited them all to the Redheads faction to form the biggest faction while probing them if they had the same betrayal ability. Hirkala replied accepting the idea, but proposed a later recruit, in order to get information or be recruited first by those that were already contacted (Vineetrika and Solman) and were battling to recruit him. A war ensued between the two potential recruiters over Hirkala, where Vineetrika was blackmailed by Solman with outing if she attempted a recruit on Hirkala.

Night 2: Hirk was recruited by Solman and met in BTSC 4. GJ was recruited by Marq and met with Shadow and Yuli and Glycereine (recruited by Yuli) in BTSC 3. Marq remained out of BTSC and Fox died (even with 75% chance) while trying to recruit EDM (which would have worked). Vine should have met with DarthMask in BTSC 1, but I forgot to recheck the BTSC meet rules since Vine originally targeted Slick and I was writing the post when she changed her action I gave them BTSC in N3, and gave her an extra courier since it was her and SH's discussion about who could be Random that made me aware I made a booboo (both had discarded DM as being Random since they did not meet).

Day 2: A new wave of couriers.

Night 3: Eric tried to recruit Phaze unsuccessfully. Yuli blocked SH's recruit on EDM. GJ re-recruited Hirk back to the redheads, per original plan established with Yuli via courier in D1. SH met with Vine at EDM. DarthNox met with Hirk at Phaze (even if Hirk was recruited to Redheads). The offensive of the Redheads began with 3 RID Kills: Framm, Phaze, Solman. By this time, 7 recruits were featured in the night-post (2+3+2) which would be the maximum number of recruits if no Independent could be recruited twice. From this moment on, any spy / info on the remaining Indy (EDM) would reveal the fact someone had been double-recruited.

Day 3: Maurice lauches a counteroffensive against the Redheads which gains little momentum and support from the other factions, only Yuli is lynched (incidentally, he did not have a RID kill and hence was not directly responsible for N3 kills). Hirkala prevents the Courts of Chaos from adding their support. Maurice is also betrayed by his faction members who do not support him and help lynch him. But this day's course of action leads to blocks on both Glyc and Marq the next night, preventing 2 kills in N4.

Night 4: Vineetrika and Segul block two of the redheads' kills. SH counter attacks by killing the only remaining Redhead blocker. GM is inactive, Slick does not powerplay him, but GM would have been blocked nevertheless. Hirk shoots his faction in the foot by agreeing at the last minute to DarthNox to perform the recruit. Without DarthNox's action, GJ would have recruited the last Indy undisturbed. Hirk gains BTSC with the Redheads after meeting with Shadow at GM's block+kill.

Day 4: No lynches, but more information is shared through code and couriers. Probes are sent via couriers to test allegiance to the Redheads.

Night 5: Hirkala gets Segul into Courts of Chaos BTSC by targeting OT and convince both of Courts of Chaos' block roles to target Corwin's faction instead of redheads. 2 out 3 Redhead kills take out 2/3 of Corwin's Party. EDM finds out Hirk's latest allegiance, as asked by SH in previous day's courier and established line of communication.

Day 5: Redheads faced 4 vs 5 odds, but control the Courts of Chaos BTSC giving them an apparent 6 vs 3. Vine's lynch against Hirk fails. Hirk asks DarthNox to start a lynch against Vine which is finally passed, while the Veto started by Vine fails. Late in the day, EDM reveals to Vine via code that Hirk is indeed a redhead. Later in the day, after the veto fails, Vine reveals that info in public to the Courts of Chaos and starts a final lynch against Hirk, before the end of the initiation phase. Slick (kinda) throws his support to the lynch against Hirk. Segul hammers the vote by supporting Hirk's actions. DarthNox is too late to change his vote on passed sequence (could have voted PRO for the second vote against Hirkala, but not enough to pass). Game is over - Vine and EDM are lynched leaving 4 out of 7 players remaining in Redheads faction, which constitutes a majority.

Special commendations

List of commendations

Yuli - You started/got so many couriers in D1 that I definitely hated you there for a second :P But you used them all wisely. I saw your efforts to get as many info and recruits as possible, trading and sharing info and forming long time plans with others (since there kinda was a 2 recruits/night cap). Basically it was through your actions that the Redheads managed to grow this quickly while hiding behind false rumors. The half joke that you created an army is not a joke, you gave each of them the incentive, built trust, found your recruiter and more of your initial faction. (You were the Perfect Builder from my perspective, understanding what it takes to win this game)

Hirkala - What can I say: your courier and follow-up plan with Yuli in D1 has brought the Redheads an advantage no one else managed to tip. You used all couriers, codes and BTSC to get you one step closer to winning. Even if you did not have internet connection all the time, you managed to be there in all the key points switching from slow-playing to rapid-fire in order to jump over each obstacle. (You were the Perfect Indy Betrayer from my perspective, understanding what it takes to win this game)

Marquessa - You got lucky finding a recruit in N1. But you did consolidate that relationship in the following days, and you pushed Shadow into trusting Yuli. You managed to coordinate with all the plans in the BTSC, (including open-thread last minute hints by Glyc and Hirk), despite not being there for the entire game. Also, I know that you did this with very limited IRL resources which meant a lot for me as a host (thank you again).

Glycereine - You signaled early in the game that you were an Indy (most posts during N1 I think) and you chose your team carefully the next day. After Yuli died, you carried the torch for the redheads and in the last part of the game messed out very nicely with the other factions through couriers while camouflaging the intention behind your votes. Solid Mafia play.

Golfjunkie - You signalled early in the game that you were an Indy and played your cards very nice. You were always in a position to betray your team, yet gave info and stuck with the Redheads till the end. And you did that while managing to stay under many people's radar. Solid Mafia play, even though you could not be active at all times.

Solman - Your attention to details, understanding of the rules, inquisitiveness and overall activity deserve a big plus. You were everywhere for a while and played your couriers to the maximum. Your blackmail on Vineetrika was a true Mafia play (however brutal it may have been for the victim) which gave your faction a head start by recruiting Hirkala. You had a blind spot after getting Hirk, but IMO you got eliminated from the game way too early to have had a decent chance to detect the betrayal (after N3 post). You did manage to weaken the other factions (Eric's and then Corwin's) using both false rumor spreading and public outing. Had it not been for the betraying secret abilities, your faction would have had a very big chance of winning.

Vineetrika - You were certainly a very active addition to your team and managed to establish a lot of relations and help your team till the last minute. I was kind of oblivious to what was happening in the couriers for a while (took me a while to get to read all the coded info) but I understand your feelings after that Turf War with solman. You got burned while trying to get recruits AND actively searching for your teammates (which you found by trading info with others). But you managed to get a very nice share of info for your team and managed to get your team back into the game a couple of times during the day. I appreciate very much that you were active a lot, despite any RL obstacles and despite the bruises gathered along the way.

Maurice - Well, I've said it in the BTSC, I'll say it again, you called for that lynch offensive exactly when needed. You were active, gathered info without giving yourself away, stayed under the radar (I don't think anyone could have RID Killed you) but never got a chance to share it since your teammates were mostly inactive. I believe that if Phaze would have not died, you would have both met him and found the others too and would have regained the ground for your team.

Host disappointments

Well, two players were inactive, making their factions lose some ground because of that. Phaze was again killed as a replacement as people narrowed down his role due to inactivity from the previous person.

Minor design booboos: Redheads' spy was too powerful in a RIDKill-oriented-game (fortunately this had no impact), some secret abilities (such as Flora/Lllewela switch spies) were quasi-useless. And I should have capped the number of sequences one could start each day (perhaps to at most 1 of each type).

I did a few minor booboos during the game, such as telling Framm his RID was incorrect, when he was actually blocked before his RID was evaluated, getting Maurice's role wrong after he was lynched. Biggest booboo was in N2 when I did not recheck BTSC meet rules when Vine blocked DarthMask.

I could also have anticipated the need for a state-of-the-art crypto tool for side-channel communication established via courier (Which was planned by me, but underestimated). Fortunately solman found the perfect tool, and it became de-facto standard since D2 (added to the forum since N3).

Biggest booboo which fortunately was not observed ... while tallying D1 sequences in a spreadsheet I used the roster I had after randomizing the roles (making Corwin first and Merlin last, all names in the order of the roles in the Role Description) ... This would have been a big blunder - outing the entire Role Roster - fortunately no one noticed till D2 when I changed the spreadsheet.

Alternate endings

Well, the Redheads ensured a very good head start by recruiting Yuli N1 and by recruiting Glycereine and Golfjunkie in N2, along with establishing a plan with Hirkala via D1 couriers.

I still think things would have been different if all factions would have pushed for recruits early in the game (N1, N2).

Hirkala - Benedict** - Betrayed the Courts of the Chaos in N3 - Recruited by Golfjunkie in N3

MVP:

Yuli - Merlin - Perfect Builder

Hirkala - Benedict - Perfect Indy Betrayer

Day and Night Posts

Prologue

A very long time ago: Courts of Chaos

There was only Chaos. The Logrus, a three dimensional maze, was the heart of Chaos.

The Serpent was the Logrus’ keeper.

The Courts of Chaos ruled the multiverse, being able to bend time and matter to their wishes.

Each being with chaos blood and enough will could navigate the Logrus and gain power over the Multiverse.

A long time ago: Amber and Order

Long ago, one of the nobles in the Courts of Chaos stole the Left Eye of the Serpent and ran off to create his own maze - the Pattern.

His name was Dworkin and the place he created was called Amber.

The Unicorn was the Pattern’s keeper and they began a battle for the multiverse with the Logrus and the Serpent.

Dworkin’s son, Oberon, began his reign as ruler of Amber.

Between Amber and the Courts of Chaos, between Order and Chaos, multiple Shadows are formed:

Each Shadow has a different flow of time and neighbouring Shadows differ only in minor details.

Those with royal Amber blood (descendants of Dworkin), if they have enough will, can navigate the Pattern and gain power over the Shadows. Navigating the Pattern or the Logrus gave one power of instant transport to any place among the Shadows. Once. It also gave them the power to navigate slowly through shadows by selecting and changing the universe around them: Shadow-walking.

The other popular means of transportation was through Trumps. Trumps are cards painted by people who have mastered the art of Trump-making and can represent people or places. Trumps can be used by anyone that has managed to traverse the Pattern/Logrus. Portrait-trumps can be used for communication (and transportation).

Years have passed: Oberon's Dynasty

The Logrus and the Pattern remained dead-locked in a battle for the multiverse. Oberon sired his dynasty and they began to explore the Multiverse. Dworkin taught the art of Trump-making to some of Oberon’s offsprings.

At some point, Oberon went missing and a cold war for succession in Amber began. Unknown to the rest of the Amberites, the Courts of Chaos have managed to lure some of the Amber family over to their side with promises of support in the succession cold-war.

Present day: Oberon is still missing - Rise of the Princes of Amber

Eric holds the throne in Amber as Oberon is still missing. Most of the Amberites are scattered through the shadows, each with their own plans.

An unknown Black Road appears near Amber and can be traced back to the Courts of Chaos. Monsters begin to emerge from the black road, attacking nearby population and converting them to zombies. Suddenly, Trumps stop working. And more people turn out to be missing ...

Eric wants to crown himself as King of Amber and unite people around Amber again. Each of the others has an opinion on this. Factions form quickly around common interests.

The Trump-jamming effect makes any attempt to use the trumps a failure unless a great number of people attempt to join their powers and try at the same time. Yet, the same concentration of powers (critical-mass) can also block any communication or action to a target. Times are a changing indeed.

Night 1 - Gossips

The Pattern and the Logrus silently watched through the Shadows how their minions were plotting against one another. The Pattern had gained the upper hand for a while, growing in numbers with Oberon's offsprings. The Logrus' keeper and the most wise members of the Courts of Chaos were aware of this and had prepared several independent plots to restore the balance, including turning some of the Amberites to the Chaos.

Eric had spent the whole day studying the plans of defending Amber against any party approaching it from land or sea. His desk was full of reports about strange creatures emerging from a mysterious Black Road, that seemed to be able to cross through Shadows. "Ah, if only these fools would realize the danger we are in. They need to come and give a helping hand. I need to convince at least one or two of them to join the defenses. Hmm, being in control of Amber has its perks ...". He slipped through the silent castle, down to the Dungeons, rushed past the guards and finally reached the door to the Pattern in Amber. The floor was black and looked as smooth as glass. And on the floor was the Pattern. It shimmered like the cold fire that it was, quivered, made the whole room seem somehow unsubstantial. It was an elaborate tracery of bright power, composed mainly of curves, though there were a few straight lines near its middle. Eric moved to the corner of the room where the Pattern started, drew his breath and placed his right foot on it. He shivered when blue-white sparks started to engulf his feet and continued to march forward. After the slow torment of the final Veil, he stood there, dizzy for a moment. He formed an image in his mind and summoned the powers of the Pattern to get him to his destination ...

Brand studied his green attire in the mirror and smiled. He flexed his fingers, testing his newly acquired Chaos powers and Werewindle appeared in his hand, summoned from his room. He knew that the Chaos Magic would only work away from both Amber and Courts of Chaos, so he was still stuck to walking the Shadows and the Pattern to reach destinations near these two poles of power. He also knew Eric controlled the Pattern in Amber, and dared not walk the Logrus, so a different route had to be taken. He rode hard and came to the place where the ghosts play at being ghosts, where the omens, portents, signs, and animate desires thread the nightly avenues and palace high halls of Amber in the sky - Tir-na Nog'th - the mysterious, moonlit Amber-mirror-in-the-sky, which was only revealed when the moon rose. It contained a mirror Pattern that could be walked safely. Brand waited paitiently for the full moon to rise, and for the outlines of the ghost stairway to take shape. When the moonlight fell full upon it, the stair had taken as much of substance as it would ever possess, and he set his foot on the stone ... As he climbed the stairs, he kept looking forward - if one would look too hard at any portion of the stair, it would lose its shimmering opacity and the ocean could be seen, far below, as through a translucent lens. In the distance, down below, to the east, he could see the Black Road. An evil grin passed on his face as he thought that he alone knew its full purpose. Reaching the head of the stairs, he rushed forward, passing right through the ghosts inhabiting this mirror of Amber's castle and went straight for the replica of the Pattern in Amber. He glanced around nervously, looking for any clouds that could obstruct the moonlight, then began traversing the Pattern. As he emerged victorious, his glance lingered for a moment on the Black Road ...

Mandor was deep within the Shadows, in a secluded fortress that he thought no one else knew about. He lowered his arms, the air was distorted for a minute, then a dinner table covered with embroidered white linen came into sudden view, soundlessly, followed a moment later by a chair. The table bore numerous covered dishes, fine china, crystal, silverware; there was even a gleaming ice bucket with a dark twisted bottle within it. He ate slowly, pondering recent gossip in the Courts of Chaos and wondered how much more of their plans had already transpired. As he finished his meal and started his bottle, he considered kidnapping a certain person who had the most potential to interfere with their plans. He dismissed the notion of kidnapping as beneath his House ... but blocking that person was a must. As the second glass was finished he rose, dismissed the whole table back to its original place in the Shadows and walked on the balcony. He stood there, focusing, for a whole hour, then in front of him a ball of yearn appeared. The air around the ball sparked with red and white. Focusing on the Logrus symbol deep within his mind, he sent the ball to his target. Slick would be incapacitated for a while, which is a good start. He enjoyed the view for a while longer, then summoned a horse and began riding towards his destination, knowing that he was slowly approaching the moment where he had to justify his actions in front of his House.

Deirdre had recently escaped from Amber and was rushing through the Shadows in an attempt to gain distance between her and Eric's party. She stopped by a pool of water and looked at her reflection in the moonlight. Her black dress had been ruined by crawling through the secret exits of Amber and her long black hair was a mess. She sighed, took her dagger out and started trimming it down. An hour later, satisfied, she started to move again. Soon, she found a clearing in which a lonely figure sat down by a fire, polishing his sword. After studying him for a while, she doubled back, circled the clearing and approached Xerxes from the road. A conversation ensued ... Alas, her charms were still working. Xerxes was so engaged in conversation he did not realize when the night ended.

Julian rode slowly through the Forest of Arden, utterly bored that he had nothing to hunt. He was riding half asleep, letting his horse regain some of his strength, using the main road through the forest. Suddenly his beasts started to growl and lunged forward ... Startled, he almost lost balance. Cursing to himself, he rose in the saddle to find the intruder that the beasts had sensed. He saw a shadowy figure running on foot away from the beasts, abandoning the road and lunging deep into the forest. Julian sighed, bitterly observing that at least the beasts would have some fun this night, and resumed his slow ride back to Amber. Hirkala however was cursing much louder as he ran through the forest. He cursed his dead horse, he cursed his stubborness to take the main road into Arden and most of all he cursed the hell-hounds that he heard growling in his pursuit. He knew very well that the hell-hounds were not normal beasts and would eventually outrun him so he ran towards an abrupt hill to his left. As he came close to the hill, he turned around and drew his sword. His first strike spliced the closest hell-hound in two. The other hell-hounds stopped to a halt, growled and started to circle Hirkala, who still had his back protected by the hill. That was a long night, but a twice bitten, ego-bruised Hirkala emerged from the forest the following day.

Bleys dressed his red and orange tunic, finished his wine, took his sword and went out of his tent. He glanced around the encampment, noting how his sentinels were patrolling the perimeter. He took one of the quickest horses and rode out. He wanted to find a particular Shadow he had visited in his youth. Little but vicious green warriors inhabited that Shadow, and they had once worshipped him as their Warrior God. He would call them to arms, and lead them through Shadows back to his encampment. He crossed a large plain, changing small details in the terrain as he went along ... struggling to bring back from a distant memory the exact violet sky he needed to achieve. As he neared the first hill, he glimpsed another rider on top of hill to the left. He tried an abrupt change in the environment to nullify the rider in order to avoid unecessary encounters. A few unfruitful minutes later, he sighed and changed course directly towards the rider. Encounters during Shadow-walking were rare, but not unheard of, so he drew his blade and approached the figure. Darth Nox was not taken by surprise, jumped from the horse and drew a sword. After a few attacks, Bleys figured out that he had met a skillful opponent, possibly one with Amberite blood. As DarthNox parried his last attack, Bleys started a new complicated sequence of attacks that would force his opponent to move backwards, closer and closer to a log that would serve as a trap. Just as they were about to reach the log, the stranger lunged forward, kicked Bleys from under his legs and rushed to the horse. Bleys turned around, dizzy for a second, then jumped on his horse and started the pursuit. They rode all night, through countless Shadows until Bleys eventually stopped. The stranger could obviously manipulate Shadows and the pursuit was fruitless. Bleys turned around and resumed his slow Shadow-walk towards the land of the little green warriors.

Random was riding slowly, following a distant rider through the Shadows. A part of his mind wandered away at something Corwin once told him ... as the rest of his mind tried to keep the distance between him and his target. He had been following the trail of subtle changes made by his target riding through Shadows for a while now, and it had become a routine his mind could easily handle. He added a little blue to the sky ... matched the seashore ... waves splashed high and enormous gulls swept low above them ... further to the right a cliff ... then a grassy treeless plain swept away to the right and a row of hills climbed higher to the left ... purple clouds covered over the sun, and it began to rain. Lightning stalked the heavens and the skies grumbled above him. Cursing at the sudden rain, he turned around as he had already figured out where his target must be heading. Subtract the rain ... add a couple of yellow windmills along the road ... daylight breaking ... over a fence ... turn left to a yellow brick road ... more sun drying him up ... just over the bridge ...

Fiona was deep within the Shadows in a place roughly in the middle between the Primal Pattern and the Primal Logrus. She had ridden far away from the Black Road, which was jamming the Trumps to a place in a conflux of magic forces, where Trumps could still be used reliably. She took out the pack of cards designed by Dworkin and the extra pack of Trumps designed by her own hands. She chose one of the Trumps, put it on the table and started focusing on the background of the picture, slowly moving her hand above, but without touching the Trump. This was a technique unknown to most of her brothers and sisters. Instead of calling the person in the image, she could instead bring alive and watch that person's surroundings. After a few minutes, the lightest of all contacts was established. She used up her energy to study her target's surroundings and movements, careful to maitain a very hard to achive balance: neither establish full-contact which would alert her target, nor break the Trump-contact completely. As time passed, she gleaned a lot of information from the target's movements and even managed to catch some minor, superficial thoughts from the target's mind.

Dara was passing as a merchant in a Shadow near Amber. She had arrived a couple of days ago and her talent to blend in and clever background stories had helped her gain the trust of the local noble. She had been his guest in his manor house outside the city for two days now, trying to glean information from the local gossip. The noble was cautios at first, but the fine wines that Dara had brought along quickly managed to unlock his tongue. Tonight, during the banquet, she had cleverly cornered her half-drunk host into recalling a story from a week ago, about a mysterious figure that had spent one night at the manor house, en-route to Amber. Brushing the gossip aside, she had found valuable information. She smiled to her local host, feigned drunkness and excused herself from his presence. Back to her quarters, she changed into riding attire, retrieved her sword and silently rode out. No one was there to see the small vicious grin that had surfaced on her face as she rode away from the manorhouse.

Dworkin was contemplating his latest work, a sketch he had drawn on top of a distant cliff in a distant Shadow. He had struggled all night to remember clearly and re-trace his path from eons ago, when he had escaped the Courts of Chaos, before the Pattern ever existed. But other colliding memories came and interfered with his work. Now, as looked at the sketch, an unfamiliar face looked back at him. His chaotic memories had interfered with his will again. He cursed aloud, half-suspecting the Pattern had a hand in this, forcing him to choose a different course of action. He had created the Pattern long ago, to oppose the Court of Chaos and had found himself soon after, with bitter irony, to be nothing more than a mere pawn in the hands of the newly created pole of power. Not a pawn, perhaps a rook, his vast knowledge about the cold war between the Pattern and the Logrus was shared only by few ... Oberon ... perhaps some of those in the Courts of Chaos, if they were still alive. The younglings had no idea, playing with forces beyond their control, unaware of the existence ... ah, many memories still refused to come to him. He sighed and looked back to the figure he had sketched. He focused on the figure, without touching the sketch and a glimpse of contact came. He quickly read his target's mind and broke contact long before the target had the time to react. He could only get the most superficial thoughts but that was enough for now.

Merlin was alone in his room near the Rim. His spy traps during the previous year had revealed to him more about his lineage. His mother, Dara, had never hidden the fact that his father was not Sawall, Mandor's father and Dara's current husband. Yet, she had never confided in him that he was the son of Corwin and that no one in the Courts of Amber had even the vaguest notion that Merlin existed. His childhood in a far away Shadow, where time flew much faster than in Amber had practicly secluded him from his father's timeline. He knew, from his study of magic with Suhuy, that the ratio was approximately 20 to 1. Which meant that in his father's timeline, barely one year had passed since he had met with Dara. Merlin arranged on the table the exotic set of Trumps that he stole from one of his mother's hidden places in the Hall of Sawall. He regarded each of those strangers - his other family - the Amberites. Unfortunately the Trumps were not labeled. He chose one figure and tried to probe the Trump with magic he had learned from his brother, Mandor. This location, so close to the Logrus, made his spy magic work seamlessly, but it also made it easier to intercept. He found out some details on the figure, but as he started to close the contact, he sensed the other mind detected him as well. He broke contact abruptly, cursed and started his backup plan. He packed lightly and summoned his horse. More investigation was needed and while the Courts of Chaos were probably the safest place to be right now, no information would come to him. His mind was set to a distant Shadow called Earth, were supposedely his father had spent a long period of time.

Llewella was pacing around Rebma, the reflection of Amber withing the sea. She had just finished reading the gossip that had arrived in Rebma through different channels. Her half-mad brothers and sister were at it again ... just when rumors about that cursed mysterious Black Road should have made them work together. She sighed, thinking of the years that passed since Oberon disappeared. Had Oberon been in Amber in a time like this, he would have rode out and cleared the mystery surrounding the Black Road, always with a trick up his sleeve, always steps ahead of the other forces in the Universe. Eric was just a placeholder, struggling to keep the reigns tight, but unaware of the subtleties of negotiation. Llewella was content to hold her position in Rebma, far from her siblings. Even in the face of this danger, she was still not prepared to give in to anyone's demands. But she had to know what was going on. She found her special secret Trump and found it cold to the touch. It could still be used ... and by the end of the night she had found some answers.

The Primal Pattern had been connected with all its replicas the whole time, while the Logrus relied solely on information relayed back by its own spies planted deep into the Shadows. They both knew that the two Amberites had managed to successfully recruit that night.

Night 2 - Walks

The Pattern and the Logrus silently watched through the Shadows how their minions were plotting against one another. Attempts to communicate were made, and both of them listened to each of the conversations, as pulses between Chaos and Order are composed of both.

During the night, Araver took one more look at his trump card and sighed. He didn't want to do this but it was necessary. Forming a trump gate and drawing someone through was going to be a costly exercise especially since the target had neither Amber nor Chaos blood, and it was someone he did not know well enough to draw a trump of directly. Clearing his mind, he began to imagine the small hut in the middle of the enchanted forest and projecting the image of the gate that stood before him. This was also going to take considerable concentration as the trumps had not been working as expected lately. Sweat ran down Araver brow as he keeled over onto the floor, but he had completed the gate. Manfred and Phaze were engaging in a heated discussion in which both their faces had turned bright red when the gate that had previously only been in Amber appear in the middle of the small hut. This suddenly turned their attention from their "mature" debate to address their new visitor. "Oh, well it appears we are needed" exclaimed Manfred dragging Phaze by the ear through the gate and into the world of Amber and to Araver's unconscious form. While Phaze began to put Araver into the recovery position Manfred spied the reason he had been summoned. Abhisk looked every bit like a pattern ghost that had found its way into the halls of chaos. Manfred tapped his staff for the first time on Amber soil and a thick cloud of smoke billowed from his position. When the smoke had cleared Manfred, Abhisk and the gate had disappeared leaving Phaze stuck in Amber. "The grumpy old git has abandoned me again" complained Phaze as he pocketed the toad that represented Abhisk and considered what Abhisks intentions were. He started reading the book Araver had left him on the table and a distant of memories started to come. The Pattern, Trumps, all these notions were absorbed magically ... He was ready to go.

Brand had traveled for a while in some distant Shadows he had discovered almost by accident a long time ago. A cleverly hidden cave in the side of a silvery mountain, allowed access to a vast underground tunnel system used by purple furry beings. Near the eastern part of their tunnel systems, while expanding the tunnel, the creatures had uncovered a hidden deposit of strange purple crystals. Unknown to them, the purple crystals could be used by Amberites to boost Trump power, something Brand discovered accidentaly. But, as a strange side-effect, that Shadow was also impossible to reach using Trumps. The creatures were very frightened of intruders, and ran away as Brand walked in their tunnels. He reached the nearest wall and started to pull out crystals, storing them in a travel pouch. After gathering enough crystals for his plans, he left the tunnels and rode his horse as far away from that Shadow as he could. He stopped by a creek, tied his horse on a nearby tree and buried some of the crystals. Brand took out his drawing kit and sat by the creek for a while. Several minutes later, he had created two Trumps, one for his current location and one for Tir-na Nog'th, the Amber-mirror-in-the-sky. He took a long nap to replenish his powers, then used the Trump to go directly at the bottom of the stairs to Tir-na Nog'th. This time, the night sky had more clouds which could possibly interfere with his plans, but he was smiling all the way through the Ghost City. He started walking the Pattern and finished it successfully with that unique combination of arrogance and ignorance an Amberite possesses ...

Merlin found his apartment on Earth untouched. He verified the traps, then complemented his defenses with new ones that he'd thought of only recently. He took all the Trumps out and stared at each of them for a while. In the end, he made two piles. He shuffled the ones he had dubbed as possibly trustworthy and took one out. He then opened his windows and inhaled the clear early spring air. He sat at the table again and took the trump he had chosen out. The surroundings of the figure in the Trump held a peculiar, almost familiar fascination for him - depicting a small grassy point jutting out into a quiet lake, a sliver of something bright, glistening, unidentifiable, off to the right. He exhaled heavily upon it, fogging it for an instant, and struck it with his fingernail. It rang like a glass bell and flickered to life. Shadows swam and pulsed as the scene inched into evening. He passed his hand over it and it grew still once again - back to lake, grasses, daytime. Very distant. Time's stream flowed faster there in relationship to Earth. Interesting. He groped for an old pipe with which he sometimes indulged himself, filled it, lit it, puffed it, and mused. He had to contact this person and he knew that reaching such a place without the person knowing will be tricky. He considered his present situation, then sighed deeply and reconsidered walking the Logrus. Walking the chaotic maze, which keeps shifting about was dangerous. Mentally unbalancing for a while. And no fun. But he could see no other way of achieving his goals. Once he put his mind on it, he sprung, locked some of the Trumps away, restored the traps and left. He took out a Trump of one of his childhood places, an abandoned part of the Courts and trumped out. He managed to sneak in to the Logrus as he did when he was a child. The image of the Logrus turned black before him, becoming a seething blot of inky turmoil. An awful feeling of disruptive power surged through Merlin, an enormous destructive force that threatened to overwhelm him, to carry him into the blissful nothingness of ultimate disorder. A part of him seemed to desire this, while another part was screaming wordlessly for it to cease. He had improved his skill to resist this, and he managed to traverse it almost unscathed. He was trembling as he finished, but still held to the memory that he had someone to reach tonight ...

Fiona gathered her drawing set and Trumps and took an exotic one from the set. The conflux allowed her to trump directly in the Pattern room if she wanted. She spent all day checking if anyone else was using the chamber behind the dungeons, then she trumped in. She looked at the glimmering Pattern, sighed and put her left foot on it. She had preffered other means of transportation but there was no turning back now. Right foot up. Memories of Bleys and Brand came to her. Right foot down. The colors of the sparks reminded her of her target somehow. Left foot up. She had to be careful. Left foot down. She had only walked the Pattern twice before. Right foot up. Unlike her brothers, she disliked the feeling of being in immediate danger if she wavered or strayed from the path. Right foot down. She passed the First Veil and looked at the center of the Pattern, so near. Almost reachable. Yet so far away. During the Final Veil, sparks engulfing her shoulders, she caught a movement near the northern wall. She knew that death would await her if she had moved her head to get a clear look at the hidden figure that was barely visible against the shimmering light of the Pattern. Right foot up. ... Can't resist the temptation, maybe a trap awaits at the end. She looked towards the figure and her right foot went down by reflex. She had strayed from the path and the sparks engulfed her ...

Dara wanted to make good use of the gossips she had found the night before. She had tried to summon the image of the Logrus to transport her and failed to. She had patience though. Possible plans emerged in her mind and led to a radical decision. She needed help this time. As much as Dara hated to ask for help, she had to trust someone at some point. She spent all day preparing her approach, tried to summon the Logrus again, then finally trumped in her house near the Rim. She encountered little resistance in her way to the Logrus. She took in the disruptive power, stood her ground and started the twisting journey to the heart of Chaos itself. Victorius, she allowed herself to breath for a while, focused on the image of her target and disappeared ...

Julian rode his mount Morgenstern, the fastest horse he had ever created. Baffled by the loss of most of his hellhounds the previous day, he had travelled to the same Shadow and got a fresh batch. The newly untrained ones had found the Forest of Arden to their liking and were running amok, much to Julian's dismay. He ran all day, trying to catch them all, at the same time awaiting for one of his close brothers to call on him. By evening, he tried to call one of them but could not make contact. The close proximity to the mysterious Black Road prevented his trumps from working. By night-fall, his hell-hounds had found the scent of DarthMask. Untrained as they were, none of the hellhounds hurried back to their master to let him know. But they did their job and started their pursuit, following him to a nearby inn. They were not able to harm him, but prevented him from acting that night.

Bleys lead the little green warrior hordes back to his encampment and enjoyed a long meal. He went up, found the tally his captains prepared for him and nodded disappointed. He needed to get more swords and having no spare Shadow-walker, he had to do it personally. Bleys had not travelled as much as his brothers, but had been celebrated as a Warrior in some ferocious Shadows. He needed one close enough to be reached by Shadow-walking alone. Also a race which could be trained fast. As he was nearing the end of his journey, he found another figure shadow-walking near him. The ripples of interference could be seen now and then, when things he had already changed suddenly reverted to their original form. He decided this needed an investigation. Driven by sword if needed. He started to stalk his mysterious opponent, half suspecting that it was the same person as last night. As Bleys caught up with him, Glycereine drew a crossbow out and shot back. Bleys managed to split the arrow with his sword and continued pursuit. As their horses were both of exotic nature, selected for their endurance, the pursuit went for the whole night. Rushing past shadows. Arrows and storms. Thunders and desert. A stalemate.

Mandor arrived at the Courts of Chaos, went to his quarters and found what he was looking for. A trump. He was ready for the next step. He summoned the image of the Logrus and started to form a ball of yearn. This one was much larger than his previous attempts. But being near to the Courts had its advantages. Time was of the essence. The air around the ball fizzled with red and white. Focusing on the Logrus symbol deep within his mind, he sent the ball to his target. Yuli would be incapacitated for a while, trapped wherever he was. Satisfied, Mandor sat down and summoned a new feast for him. A less sophisticated dinner table came into sudden view, soundlessly. This will have to do. He ate slowly. Still some wine. There. Much better. Now, for the next day, he had to be careful.

Caine was out on the deck. He had gotten out of his cabin to get some fresh air. Thoughts were rushing in his head. He did not know who to trust now. He ordered his captains to move the fleet closer Amber. His defense of the sea had no flaw, yet he expected more harm may come to Amber from different paths. He went back to the cabin and hovered over the cards again. He slowly moved over them again and after a while, a complex set of superimposed images began to form. He paused for a while, had something to eat, then started to sort the images out. He had found something. There. Yes. This was clearly worth being investigated further. But he no longer had the power to try it again tonight.

Deirdre had found an inn in a Shadow as far enough from Amber as she could get. The inn will have to do for a while. She was disgusted with the politics of Amber. Being thrown around in this giant game of thrones was not what she had imagined. She knew she had to escape her followers, if any, and to get help from the one person she both trusted and respected. But nothing had been heard for a while from her full-brother. Maybe he was ... no he couldn't have been. News like that spread like wildfire through the shadows. She kicked away the feeling of overwhelming odds and started to put her thoughts together. As the innkeeper came with the meal, she noticed a familiar figure sitting at the table near the fire. DarthMask was a good place to start. With luck, she could get some information out of this move, worst case, she'd be in no worse than now. She complained of the cold for a while and waited for him to pick up on that. He did and invited her to switch their tables. As she thanked him and invited him to keep her company, he was entranced. They spent the night talking, with her sitting across the entrance to the inn, half-expecting someone dear to come through.

Gerard put his goblet on the table and sat down in his confortable chair. The sea made the wine in his goblet move around, but the cabin held the howling winds outside. He opened a drawer and took the Trumps out. He took only those depicting his brothers and sisters, as well as some exotic unknown faces he had found in one of his journeys in a distant Shadow. He sighed, thought for a moment about calling one of his brothers then decided against it. These days, trust had to be re-earned. He shuffled them a couple of times then started to put them on a table face down. He drew aside the second and the nineth from the pile. Closing his eyes he placed his left hand on one of the Trumps and the right on the other. He felt a cold touch on his left fingers after a while and an image was formed. Blurry, details uncertain, but almost familiar. He focused his mind on the left Trump. An image struck him as he saw through the eyes of his target. A face hidden from sight, to the right. He focused and after a while the vision cleared. He severed the contact before his target could sense him, took another sip and tried the other Trump. The new vision came much faster, and soon enough he caught a glimpse of what his target saw and thought. A brief contact was almost established and he severed it immediately. He stood for a while, pondering his next move, then stood up. He took his sword and went out to the docks.

Dworkin tried again. This time, with more confidence. He drew several sketches until he got the exact hair color he remembered. And he captured his target's special expression. He rested for a while, then tried to focus on the figure, without touching his sketch. Contact. A glimpse. Very fast. Butterflies. Strange purple animals. Orange skies. A green forest. He quickly read his target's mind and broke contact. His target seemed to be waiting for him. Hmm, his target's superficial thoughts were a little weird. He looked around then started to walk. With rapid eye movements, he managed to advance to a nearby town where he got food. Time to think for the next move.

Flora was still on Earth, in her luxury residence upstate. She had exiled herself for a while but awaited the right opportunity to sneak in Amber again. Unfortunately, she had only a limited set of cards at her disposal. She locked the door, then shuffled the cards. She cleared those she could trust in a pile, then made a sudden move that knocked the vase off the table. As she cursed and stood up to call her maid, she saw that a Trump had been under the vase all along. A slightly familiar face regarded her from a fuzzy grey background. The face spelled danger. She paced for a while, staring at the trump, undecided as always. She then took out a ring given to her by Dworking (Well, he had no idea he had misplaced it anyway), and put it on the trump. As she focused on contacting the figure, the ring began to glow, then the contact was stopped. She knew from experience that Framm would be in a lot of pain right now. That took care of the problem. For now.

Llewella was still in Rebma, the reflection of Amber withing the sea. The gossip did not satisfy her information needs. She debated trying to send a message to a brother or a sister, but decided against. She did find out where the Black Road originated from ... it stretched from the Courts of Chaos pushing a Shadow-storm towards Amber. No idea who started this and why. She had to know more. Her special Trump was there and she used it. More pieces of the puzzle. More mysteries ahead.

Both the Pattern and the Logrus heard about the three recruits that night.

Night 3 - Strikes

The Pattern and the Logrus spied through the eyes of their pawns, looking for any breach in the others defenses, any stray pawn which could be turned against his original master...

Corwin went for Rebma. He knew he held some favors with the people living there. They let him pass, and he reached the seventh corridor where the door to the Pattern was. He unlocked the door and pushed it open with his foot. He stared within. In a room the size of a ballroom the Pattern was laid. The floor was black and looked smooth as glass. And on the floor was the Pattern. As it shimmered like the cold fire, the Pattern made the whole room seem somehow unsubstantial. Corwin stopped for a second, admiring the elaborate tracery of bright power, composed mainly of curves, though there were a few straight lines near its middle. This sight always reminded him of a fantastically intricate, life-scale version of one of those maze things one can do with a pencil, to get you into or out of something. Everytime the thought he could almost see the words "Start Here," somewhere way to the back. He moved forward and regarded the line of inlaid fires. The Pattern constituted the only illumination within the room. He strode forward, setting his left foot upon the path, outlined by blue-white sparks. He then set his right foot upon it, and felt the current passing him. He took another step. A crackle. His hair beginning to rise. Another step. Then the Pattern began to curve, abruptly, back upon itself. Ten more paces, and a certain resistance seemed to arise. It was as if a black barrier had grown up before him, of some substance which pushed back upon him with each effort that he made to pass forward. He fought it. Walked it breathing heavily. Several arcs and lines later ... to take the last step was like trying to push through a concrete wall. He did it. He turned slowly and looked back over the course he had come. He was a prince of Amber, and by God! nothing could humble him in the presence of his peers. Not even the Pattern! He focused on his goal, smiled and disappeared...

Merlin summoned his exotic set of Trumps he had left on Earth. He took some of the figures out and he concentrated on the exotic places featured in the other Trumps left. He recognized one of the drawings, from a description he had read a while ago. It was the mirror underwater Amber - Rebma. It had a mirror Pattern which could be used. Even by him, if his Mother did not lie about who his father was. Hmm. Suhuy and other had theorized about someone walking both the Pattern and the Logrus, as apparently Dworkin had done already, when he created the Pattern in the first place. But Rebma's Pattern could also be a deadly trap if he was not an Amberite. What is life without risk? He summoned his energies and focused on the Trump. Seconds later, he found himself in a large corridor. Underwater. He almost drowned before he understood that he could actually breathe what passed as water in this place. He looked around, then followed the seventh corridor to the end. He tried the door. Locked. He tried to summon the image of the Logrus in his head. The image fizzled and a severe headache gripped him. Enough. That was not going to work, but a locked door was not enough to stop a prince of Chaos. And Amber. Skilled on Earth. He produced a lockpick set and set to work. After a couple of minutes, the door clicked open. Merlin found a view which was both oddly familiar and unknown. The Pattern was blue and white. And appeared to be a simple maze, much simpler to look at than the maze of the Chaos. He studied it for a while, checking for entrances and exits. A last minute debate with self and he was ready to go. As soon as he stepped on the maze, his mind filled with memories from Earth or other Shadows. Then he saw Amber. His mind was assaulted with different views from countless pair of eyes. He stood up defiantly. He was an Amberite and this was his birthright. One step at a time ... sparks flying all around him ... a turn ... slower now ... resistance ... more headaches ... sparks up to his shoulders ... one more turn. There. He had emerged unscathed. He flexed his muscles and thought about his next move. He could still remember the Logrus' image in his head. It had not been overwritten. Sweet. Now for his next move ...

Eric had decided that his defenses of Amber would not make the Black Road problem disappear. He needed to do more about that. He wondered for a second what would Oberon do in his position, then brushed the thought aside. He did not have the luxury to day-dream now. The responsibility of keeping Amber safe was his now. Too bad that Oberon had left without leaving him proper instructions. But the notes he had found in the study were enough to get him started. In a couple of years, Amber's influence will grow again. He took out a pack of cards and tried to contact someone again. No luck. The Black Road's influence was too great, even in Amber. He wondered for a second what type of magic would be powerful enough to do that, diminishing the power of the Pattern near its source. He wished Dworkin would have been still around. The old strange man probably forgot more things about magic and the Pattern than all the Princes ever knew. He sighed and decided on a course of action. He needed help and he needed it now. He went down to the dungeons again, took out the key from his neck chain and opened the door to the Pattern. He started to walk the Pattern, confidence rising as he navigated the intricate Veils one by one. He finished it dizzy as always. He stood there, regaining his posture befitting the soon-to-be-crowned king of Amber, then focused on the person he wanted to get to tonight ...

Suhuy went back to the Courts and changed himself back to the demon-form of a prince of Chaos. He needed energy to reach a certain target, and only walking the Logrus would help. He had attempted to walk the Logrus even more exhausted in the past. And he made it. Nearly. He considered his responsibilites as leader of his House but he simply could not see another way to reach his goals. He greeted the dangerous shifting maze with a grin. This place was his home. He took in the destructive force of Chaos and started shifting away. He started to smile as the feeling of disruptive Chaos surged through him. He embraced the image of the Logrus, closing his eyes, moving and shifting forward. He was trembling as he finished, dangerously close to falling in the last part of his walk. He breathed heavily but was able to focus one last thought towards his target as he shifted away.

Dworkin took out a trump depicting his prison, his cave where Oberon forced him to live for centuries. He saddened as he returned to the cave, but this was the quickest way to the Primal Pattern. He located what looked to be a long staff leaning against the wall off to his right. He struck it several times against the ground and its upper end began to glow. It lit up the area fairly well, revealing a narrow tunnel into which he now advanced. An odor grew stronger. He passed the large metal ring which was set in the rock, and followed the glittering chain. He muttered to himself and drew out something he had hidden in his robe. He tossed it where the end of chain could be seen going into a large opening in the wall. "Good Wixer, I am not going far. It is all right, good Wixer. Here is something to chew on." The purple griffin, stirred within its lair, accepted the offering with a toss of its head and a series of crunching noises. He chuckled, rose, and continued on along the passageway. The ceiling rose and the way widened. At length, he came to the cave mouth. He moved forward once more, passing into a world of sky-candles and blue velours. He glanced at the view for a second. The Pattern glowed an almost acetylene blue by a skysea, and all of the stars above, beside, and below were arrayed with a geometric precision, forming a fantastic, oblique latticework which, more than anything else, gave the impression that he was hung in the midst of a cosmic web where the Pattern was the true center, the rest of the radiant meshwork a precise consequence of its existence, configuration, position. He knew what had to be done. He set his foot down, and started to march forward. The pattern was his and he was the Pattern. He had done this countless times. He emerged near the center and stopped for a second considering his options. As he chose one, he disappeared ...

Julian rode slowly through the Forest of Arden. As Morgenstern picked his own pace, as fast as a fiery beast could ride, Julian's mind wandered away. He had been in touch via courier birds with some of his brothers and sisters. One of them had dropped a ring which he discovered was cold to the touch. He knew next to nothing about the magic, but had overheard Oberon and Dworkin talking about spikards, mythical artifacts of perfected powers, sometimes exceeding the understanding of its creator. He had heard them arguing about one spikard which had been misplaced. Julian cursed in his beard as he did not remember more of that dialogue. It had been centuries ago, and he was not a fan of magic anyway. He slipped the ring on his finger. The ring started to glow and memories started to flow within him. He knew he had the power to freeze people. A figure appeared in his mind and the ring began to glow even more, drawing energy from Julian. He smiled. Golfjunkie would be frozen for while, stopped in whatever Shadow he was on. Morgenstern stopped as his master's body became limp. Julian's eyes closed for a while right where Morgenstern dropped him. Soon enough, he felt his horse's breath and opened his eyes. Morgenstern had pushed his hand till the ring had been dropped. Julian took the ring and put it inside one of his pockets. Useful tool, but very dangerous.

Mandor had changed into a demon to navigate through certain Shadows near the Courts. He approached his hidden cache and took out a ring from them. It was maybe premature, but it could be useful in the future. He took the ring, but did not place it on his finger yet. He focused on the air before him, gesturing with his hands. A complicated symbol appeared in the thin air. He put the ring on his index and started outlining the symbol with that finger. As the symbol was completed, it suddenly gained substance. Mandor drew a card out - it was the trump of Phaze. He attached it to one end of the symbol and then focused on the other end of the symbol. Slowly, slowly the symbol seemed to vanish inside the Trump, like a snake being devoured. Mandor smiled and brushed the sweat on his brows. Phaze would not be doing anything tonight. He hoped this was worth the effort he put into the spell. He moved away, famished. He needed energy. Fast.

Deirdre had walked through the shadows till she reached her destination. She had not been here for a while, and generations had passed in this Shadows. She bribed her way through and by midnight she found her in an audience at her target's residence. During the meal, she managed to slip a small dose of the vial of four that she had carried with her in her host's drink. As the conversation flowed, EDM became sleepy. Suddenly, her head fell down on the table. Deirdre excused herself from the rest of the guests and left. She did not want to be around when EDM would wake up the next morning.

Flora was still on Earth, in her luxury residence. She had tried to Shadow-walk towards Amber, but she had to turn around as she encountered the Black Road. It seemed to stretch forever and it made her nervous to be near it. Amber being unreachable, she had returned to her favorite Shadow. She took a light meal then went to the study and took the cards out. She thought about for a while, then decided a little harassment was in order. She took Yuli's card out and reached for her ring. As she focused on the smiling figure, the ring began to glow until it almost burned the Trump. She could almost hear the screams in her mind as the contact broke. Yuli would not be doing anything for a while but fight his headaches.

Framm entered the room and moved towards the table when he heard a sound behind him. He turned and saw a shadowy figure, resembling some he saw once, in a package of Trumps. The distant memory faded as he saw the figure's features began to flow like melting wax. The stranger somehow seemed much larger and longer-limbed than he had been. Framm started the same, but his mind told him there was not enough time for that tactic to work. He ran to the desk and tore open the drawer. Just as he was about to snatch the Trumps that would have meant his escape out of there, his hand froze in midair. He saw the ring on the attacker's hand and his eyes grew larger. The figure's clawlike black-hand went directly for his heart and tore it out.

Solman was riding through the Shadows when a wall appeared in front of him. He tried to substract it away and discovered that he could not. The wall was stubbornly there. Unavoidable. He had half-expected interference this night, so he looked around. A figure had appeared on top of the wall, looking down to him. Solman looked at the figure. Yes, he was half-right about it. Someone had come to kill him. Right in the open. As Solman reached for his sword and pack of Trumps he felt a minor pain in his. The figure had a crossbow in his hand. Solman looked down and saw the end of an arrow coming out of his chest. He smiled as he knew he could not be killed as easily. As he looked back at his attacker, he saw the figure strangely waving at him. Solman's smile dropped. The attacker knew his allegiance. His own smile faded as his blood started to clot. He gently fell to the right, still looking at the wall. His last conscious thought was to the person that has orchestrated this betrayal.

Phaze awoke as he heard the sound and moved to his right. A stranger's blade nicked his hand as he grabbed his sword. He jumped out of his bed and tried a headcut, which the stranger parried; and Phaze parried his riposte to his heart and cut at his wrist. The stranger parried his attack and kicked a small stood between them. Phaze threw it back with his toe, but the stranger dodged it. Phaze tried a very fancy attack which involved a beat, a feint in quarte, a feint in sixte, and a lunge veering off into an attack on the stranger's wrist. He managed to nick the stranger and blood flowed. As a smile appear on Phaze's face, the stranger came on strong, attacking furiously, pushing Phaze into the corner. Phaze tried three more elaborate attacks and was defeated on each occasion. The stranger parried him and made him retreat before his own attacks. The seeds of fear started to rise in Phaze's mind as fell back before the attacker. Phaze pressed his fancy attack again. This time, the stranger had expected it, moved slightly to his right and drove his sword right through Phaze's heart. Phaze collapsed, eyes still following his attacker, wide with recognition.

Random was riding fiercly, his mind possesed by a single thought. He was riding through the Shadows, changing as he went along. A little green to the sky ... further to the left a black hill ... a gray forest ... then a grassy plain ... pebbles ... a cleaner blue sky ... more clouds ... a yellow road stretching ahead for miles ... more sun ... splashing through a small river ... turning left to avoid a farm ... clouds ... more hills ... there ... He stopped and looked at his destination. He had found his target's hideout, near the horizon. He left his horse, and moved the rest of his way on foot. Once he achieved a good position on top of the hill, he took out a scope he had borrowed from one of the hunters he had passed earlier and looked directly at his target. Good, he was able to see all the movements now.

Gerard sat in his chair, cursing. He was more and more confused at what was happening out there. There were certainly people with more information than he had. He hated to admit to himself that he was clueless at the moment. He needed to see what some where doing tonight, maybe that would shed some light on what was really happening. He took the Trumps out of his drawer. He took two out and threw the rest back in. Closing his eyes he placed his hands on the Trumps. He waited for the cold touch and for the current to pass him. After a while two images appeared to him. He focused on one, then on the other. Abruptly he broke contact. He now knew what they were doing. But why? There was more to this than he was seeing right now. He massaged his temples, scaring away the first signs of a headache. He needed more answers and he won't get them by standing here and watching the Trumps. He went for the docks.

Both the Pattern and the Logrus heard about the two recruits that night.

Night 4 - Counter-Strikes

The Pattern and the Logrus were both anticipating some counter-strikes this night as the balance of power shifted between them a couple of times ...

Dworkin knew he had one more card to play. This may be expected down in the Courts of Chaos, but then again, it could be a bold move that would provide the necessary advantage he needed. He trumped away to his former residence outside the Courts of Chaos. Memories from eons ago came to him as he changed back to his demon-form. It had been too long since he last tried to do that and he felt physical pain as he morphed into the native form of a prince of Chaos. He stretched for a while hunting in a nearby forrest then took a walk on a large field nearby, chasing away small white rabbits. He tried to bring the image of the Logrus in his mind. Almost succeeded. There. Slowly. After his mental exercises were over he was ready for the task he had in mind. He tried some secret passages that had been reconfigured since his departure from the Courts of Chaos a long ago. He was almost discovered twice, but he managed to find his way to the Logrus. As he looked upon the chaotic maze, the one he had spent most of his life running from, he considered the irony of the present situation. He chuckled then set his foot on the Logrus. As he moved, memories fled back to him, overwhelming. The destructive force rose in him, further driving him to insanity. He finished walking the Logrus with an insane grin on his face and used the Logrus power to reach for a person deep into the Shadows ...

Mandor was again in his full demon form. He now had certifiable info from a trusted source that pointed him to the right direction. He had briefly considered bolder moves, and he found support from his brethren for those options. He trumped directly to his quarters inside the Courts of Chaos. He was feeling lucky tonight as he moved towards the Logrus. He had to navigate the shifting corridors from the main entrance then found himself standing upon the abyss, in the immediate vecinity of the Logrus. He drew his potentially last breath and started to walk the chaotic maze. As shifts threw him in and out of his mind, he resisted despite the low energy that he felt drained away by the minute. He collapsed immediately after finishing the walk. He stood there for a while. Eyes on the Logrus. Taking chaotic energy in. Then he closed his eyes and reached for ...

Deirdre had a very bold plan in mind, but she had confidence that this move was correct. If only the others would do similar moves, there may still be hope. She passed through several caravans till she reached the right Shadow. A quick tour through the city and some well-placed questions in the poor-sector of the city gave her the information that she needed. The noble in the castle outside this town was a Shadow-walker, and most likely the one she had hoped to reach. She found her way to the castle and decided for a stealth approach. She stopped in the kitchen and poisoned the supper meal. The effects for a normal person would be a quick passing headache and a mild case of paranoia. For a Shadow-walker, the poison would wake the deepest nightmares and provoke a severe interference with all his powers over the Shadows. Hallucinations prevented Glycereine from meeting his goals that night.

Bleys had walked the purple Shadow close to Earth and found a tribe of paranoid dwarves that had faith only in their warrior god - Bleys himself. As he moved them through Shadows back to his camp he pondered his next attacks. He gathered all the armies he mustered so far and devised a plan with his captains. Near midnight, he started the march towards his first enemy. As his army clashed with GMaster's defensive forces, a battle ensued. Four hours and seven minutes later, after nine assaults, Bleys armies had to retreat as GMaster himself had joined the battle. Bleys watched the battle from a nearby hill, and smiled as he watched his opponent swiftly breaking his own lines. Bleys was not even angry about that. This had been foreseen and countered. The diversion had worked as planned.

Flora was distrustful of her brothers and sisters. She had been in and out of contact with most, but she was used to follow orders and let others take the lead. No clear instructions came her way, so she decided to take matters into her own hands. She went to the study and chose yet another figure from the package. She briefly regarded her target then took the ring she now carried on a silver chained and put it on the Trump. As she focused on her target, the ring began to glow and a brief headache came. She resisted the temptation to break the contact and kept gazing at Marquessa's face. Finally, the spikard camouflaged as a ring broke through and tapped into Marq's mind. Flora broke the contact and lied down on the couch. She was exhausted but strangely happy that she was actually doing something important for a change. It felt right. And Marq would not be doing anything for a while, except fight those headaches.

GMaster awoke as he heard a sound in his private quarters. He had been tired as hell and wanted nothing more than to get a good decent sleep for once. He moved for his sword, and did not find it there. A figure emerged from the shadows, "Under normal circumstances, I would let you defend yourself. But we worked to hard to get into this position to risk it all now. Maybe you've learned something along the years. Maybe you can beat me now. We may never know." A quick thrust and GM looked down to see blood pouring from his chest. He gasped for air and fell to the floor. Mercifully, the killing blow followed soon after.

Shadow - awoke at the seventh tick of the clock. There was someone in her quarters. This was unexpected. This should not have happened. Something went wrong. She reached for her sword but it was too late. A sword was pointed at her throat. She saw her attacker and smiled. It would be a fair fight. The sword retreated and she grabbed her own and kicked out of bed. She lunged at her opponent with all her strength. She used all her tricks that night, all the fancy attacks she had ever mastered. All she managed to do was draw the first blood. Her opponent had slowly parried every attack she made and then pushed back with a very swift attack. She stared in disbelief as she felt the sword piercing her heart.

Random was again stalking someone through the Shadows. He was sure this time that his opponent had more goals in mind this night. Gaining information was paramount for the next offensives. Hmm. Stalking this night's target was a piece of cake. He took out his scope and cursed. He had to change his position for a couple of times until he could clearly see what his target was doing. But he was not discovered and left soon after.

Gerard went from the docks to a walk. He needed some fresh air after the previous events. He had done some mistakes in the past that came to haunt him now. He went for the hills and sat on the grass for a while, thinking. He had to rely on his spying abilities one more time. Gerard took two more cards out and lurked in and out of contact all night. At day-break he rose and went back to his ship. He had found something, yet was unsure what to do with it. Troubled waters. Need to pour oil.

Llewella was still in Rebma. She now had some information relayed back to her, but still needed more general anwers. She had to know more. She took her special Trump out and used it. She asked some strange questions, but found that the answers were the expected ones.

Both the Pattern and the Logrus were anxious but saw no recruits that night.

Night 5 - Avalanche

The Pattern and the Logrus were both so tuned to their pawns that they failed to see the tides. Then the avalanche came.

Deirdre was part of the offensive now. For the first time, she saw her move clearly. This would need to work or else there was hell to pay. Or worse. This time, her stealth had gotten her close to her target's hiding place, hiding among commoners. Unnoticed. The few drops she managed to drop in Marq's drink gave her no chance. Nothing would be coming from this area of operations.

Mandor took a mental relaxion posture and froze for a while. With a target sent in his mind, he started his spell. Mandor was almost confident that this move would benefit his faction the most. Gesture after gesture, an intricate transparent maze appeared in the air in front of him. As he summoned all his resources, the image of the Logrus appeared super-imposed on the maze and the whole arrangement gained substance. It started to contract until it reached the size of a small acorn, still floating in midair. Mandor smiled and retrieved the Trump from his pocket. He focused on the acorn and it flew right through the Trump. Mandor's smile turned into a wider grin as he knew Sparrowhawk would spend a very long time trying to figure out his way out of that maze.

Flora was on the move. She found a way to circumvent her previous reclusion in that cursed Shadow. She had brought her special trained dogs for protection. She found the place she had been told about and read the instructions left for her. Yes, hide and strike. This was to her liking. She drew the ring out and found Onetruth's trump. The ring did its work and OT was busy all night with so more problems than she could handle at once.

Sparrowhawk awoke from his sleep. He had almost reached the Shadow when he had felt the sudden need to sleep. Nothing had happened. Time to move on. He looked for his horse but could not see it anywhere. He sighed and started to move. Weird, the sky refused to change its color. Must be close to that cursed road again. He paced ahead wondering if the Black Road had moved towards him while he was sleeping. He walked till he found a lonely figure in the middle of road. The figure was sad. And waved goodbye. Moments later, SH was engulfed by the Black Road that he could no longer feel once his powers as an Amberite had been stripped.

Onetruth was almost asleep when she heard the noise. She had half expected something like this to happen. She rose and took her sword. The figure nodded, sad. The attack was lauched. This was clearly not a balanced match and Onetruth lost it soon.

Dworkin was done doing the grunt work. He found a nice spot in the Shadows, found his drawing kit. He was gonna watch this from a distance from now. No more crazy stuff, no more running through the Shadows. That was getting ridiculous at his age. He draw up a Trump and started to eavesdrop on his target's movements.

Gerard took another walk to clear his mind. He needed inspiration, so he took two more cards out and lurked in and out of contact all night. At day-break he went back to the docks. Nothing to do for a while but wait and see.

Llewella was still using her special Trump. She had more focus in her questions and she found the two answers revealing. But she kept wondering what was it really like out there. She debated with herself if she needed to get out of her inertia and aid someone with this information. By daybreak, she was still undecided.